Sacha Baron Cohen Movie:

		List Price: $39.98		Label: Universal Studios Salesrank: 1325 Released: November 17, 2009
		Our Price: $16.99
		Used Price: $13.89
		MPAA Rating: R (Restricted) Media: Blu-ray

Editorial Review:
Oscar® nominee and Golden Globe® winner Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat, Da Ali G Show and Talladega Nights) brings you the comedy that has started more conversations, generated more controversy and dared to go further than ever before! As brüno travels the world in search of fame, everyone he encounters — celebrities, politicians, Hasidic Jews, terrorists and cage fighters — becomes a stepping-stone to stardom, with hilarious results! So prepare yourself for nonstop laughs in the film Peter Travers of Rolling Stone says should be “Numero uno on your funny-time list!”

Description of Brüno [Blu-ray]:
The brilliant British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen dips into his stable of pre-existing characters and comes up with a big-screen vehicle for Brüno, a gay Austrian fashionista. Brüno is blond, fame-hungry, and prone to wearing unexpected combinations of lederhosen and hot pants. But it's his runway disaster with an all-Velcro suit that gets him barred from the Milan fashion scene and leads to the cancellation of his TV show. ("For the second time in a century, Austria had turned on its most famous man," he complains.) Clearly, he needs to go to America and share his philosophy--or at least become a celebrity in whatever way possible. Brüno rolls out in a fashion similar to Borat, a combination of a scripted through-line interspersed with scenes of Baron Cohen improvising with people who don't realize they're being set up, Candid Camera-style. About half the time, this reaps some healthy laughs: a sequence with Brüno sitting down for a conversation with a "de-programmer" who claims to cure people of their homosexuality is on-topic, and there's a wild series of interviews with parents so desperate to get their kiddies into showbiz they'll agree to all manner of dangerous and irresponsible childcare. A lot of the humor isn't about Brüno's gayness at all; Baron Cohen is at his best when displaying freakish comic bravery (sitting across from a terrorist, he advises that "Your King Osama looks like a dirty wizard"). But the other half of Brüno simply misses the movie's best targets--homophobia and celebrity culture--by miscalculating the nature of ambush comedy. When Baron Cohen gets former Presidential candidate Ron Paul in a hotel room and begins to undress, Paul isn't showing bigotry by storming out (except in his language); he's understandably reacting to obnoxious behavior in a supposedly professional situation. Too many set-ups fall short of the mother-lode pay dirt that Borat so frequently hit, leaving this a distinctly lesser item in the Baron Cohen portfolio. --Robert Horton

Stills from Bruno (Click for larger image)

Brüno [Blu-ray] Reviews:
What Arab/Jew conflict, they both like humus...
2009-12-17 - Part of the problem with Cohen's humor is that it reveals how stupid, selfish, and moronic people are. It's a rule in comedy that its to easy to do this and one shouldn't do it because the crowd will resent it. Although, it is tasteful to game unsuspecting people with short jests and ruses like on "candid camera", but extended skits are a bit taboo, they are often seeing by the audience as "not funny". This is what defines Cohen...beware.

This is why many, many, many people do not like this movie, claiming it is not "funny" but it only makes me wonder what they do find "funny"? I bet they have no problem watching The Office, American Pie sequels or even Chuck (why is that show STILL on the air?) but I digress...In this film Sacha Baron Cohen pushes his character even further in the improvised and faux situations, Cohen is one part madman - one part brilliant thespian, he is one of those individuals who seems to occupy his own dimension while existing in this one (Andy Kaufman, Alfred Jarry, Monty Python). Is the movie always funny? Of course not. But is it bold and original? Of course so. This movie is all about perspective, be like a fly on the wall and stop being so judgmental, even if you're not impressed you should at least be entertained. Could of been 5 stars if a bit more material in middle east was in film, those people need to lighten up and learn some humility, for sure.


Borat at least had a point
2009-12-17 - Honestly, I'm quite a fan of Borat. No, I don't sit there and make a weekly appt with my dvd player, but it was funny. It was real life with a plot point on how close-minded some Americans are and how different cultures act in different circumstances. Brüno, however, seemed completely pointless. I suppose the underlying plot was how people react to homosexuality (and sex/censorship), but the way it was presented was not at all like Borat. It just seemed like he wanted to make a movie with a lot of male genitalia flashing about. I laughed at some parts (hence the 2 stars), but mostly was just wondering why he was doing what he was doing and when the movie was going to be over. Too bad. :)

No Brain Required - What Ever Happened to Good Movies?
2009-12-16 - This movie subtracts from the sum total of human knowledge. It is pointless, disgusting, idiotic, moronic, and the product of sick minds. Cohen does not pass for acting anymore than what I deposit in the toilet every morning. This movie may appeal to mindless teenage slugs. I too was hoping for another Borat type of movie (which wasn't so great either). What I got was a complete waste of money. I am having a hard time coming up with anything to say other than the movie is sickening, revolting, and deranged. If you are considering watching this movie (video on demand) or buying it, you are throwing away your money.

After watching this movie, I have concluded that Hollywood is completely incapable of making a good movie. It's all trash and idiocy. Hollywood writers should go on a permanent strike. I won't be watching any more Cohen movies. The man (Cohen) has a serious mental problem.

znot all that funny
2009-12-15 - Sasha Baron Cohen is not as funny as he seems to think he is. I am not a prude but too much of the film is devoted to gross-out gags. I am offended by the time I wasted in watching this film.

Basically Boring
2009-12-15 - I loved Borat but frankly, I found this movie boring. It did not offend me. I'm well aware of S.B. Cohen's comedic tendencies. I'm also familiar with the Bruno character from the Ali G series. I just found the skits all very similar. It's as though he tried to hard and his "comedy muse" was not up to par on this one. Some people contend that the movie is not good because it is politically incorrect or is too much about gays. Well, that's Cohen - I love that he's politically incorrect and I love his characters. He just was not all that funny in this one. I would give Borat a '5' but can barely pull up a '3' for this one.